WASHINGTON — Television’s Rep. Francis Underwood’s season one introduction to “House of Cards” explains his view of America’s capital city: “Give and take. Welcome to Washington.” But the show’s portrayal of real-life D.C. politics has a far murkier side than most Capitol Hill staffers and D.C. workers say even the most power-consumed ever descend into.

A study sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research claims that the elimination of the federal unemployment benefit program in 2014 resulted in 1.8 million new jobs that year, suggesting that offering unemployment benefits can slow job growth.

To settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged LinkedIn failed to protect the passwords and private information of its premium subscriber customers, the company has agreed to pay $1.25 — or about $1 each — million to approximately 800,000 people who were premium users of the social media network between March 2006 and June 2012.

Last week in Texas, U.S. Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered a halt to President Obama's executive actions on immigration, agreeing with Georgia and 25 other states that filed a lawsuit opposing the president's attempt to rewrite our immigration system. This is a welcome announcement.

As America recovers from the recession, wealthy households are recovering faster than low-income ones, whose incomes have stagnated or declined since the crash. A new report says that this widening gap is sapping Social Security.